System and method for a solid-state thermal battery

Abstract

A solid-state thermal battery system is disclosed herein. The system includes a stationary thermal storage medium that can be charged by adding heat to the thermal storage medium. Actuated heat engines can be utilized to discharge the solid-state thermal battery, converting the heat stored in the thermal storage medium into electricity. The heat engines are actuated in a manner that reduces thermal gradients in the thermal storage medium to increase the efficiency of the system. In one embodiment, the thermal storage medium is contained in a main chamber of an insulated container. The heat engines are stored, when idle, in an ancillary chamber adjacent to the main chamber and moved into the main chamber by an actuation system to begin discharging the solid-state thermal battery. The heat engines follow a path during discharge to dynamically move between regions of the thermal storage medium to reduce thermal gradients induced therein.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.